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Download and "ripping" questions with a Mac.

Hi all, I am all new to this and i need some help.

How do you rip CD's into Itunes in either WAV or Apple Lossless?
I have rip one CD and looking at the file data it shows 128kbps which is highly compressed. I may have done something wrong or missed something in the process.

Also, Itunes and Itunes+ have highly compressed music files 128kbps and 256kpbs respectively. Is there a way to convert those files into Apple Lossless or WAV. Or are you limited to HDtracks and Music Giants for high resolution music files. Do i need a special software to do all this like dbpoweramp music converter?
I want to play those "digits" on my home hifi with the highest sound quality possible using an Ipod 160GB + Wadia dock + Audio Research DAC 7.

If the answers i am seeking are buried in the archives can you direct me to them.
Thank You.

smoffatt
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drubin
3,265 posts
 
I did a fair amount of testing between Max and iTunes before I started ripping my collection. Could not hear a difference -- do you guys really think there is one? Why?
sammie
220 posts
 
Hi Greg,

Yep, I forgot to mention that sometimes, though infrequently, MAX will screw up or not recognize tag info. Even if it recognizes, it sometimes does not carry over to Itunes for some reason. So, you're forced to fill that in later. It's a pain in the a#$ for sure, but I think worth it. If it is happening on every album, in preferences, make sure you have "use Itunes compatibility mode" checked under Itunes tab, and make sure the ripper is cdparanoia, not the "basic ripper" under ripper tab.

Once Macworld reveals the new Apple desktops, I will be springing for one...hopefully an updated Mac Mini. Then, I'd like to try to use EAC with windows on the new Mac, and compare the EAC rips to Max rips.
drumsgreg's avatar
drumsgreg
154 posts
 
Sammie, thats the problem, I didn`t have it in cdparanoia checked, I`ll try it later today and see how it works thanks Greg
photon46
1,076 posts
 
There has been a great deal of verbage spilled over this topic in the past and no consensus ever seems to be reached as to whether AIFF, WAV, & Lossless are sonically equivalent. I think there is a difference, depending on whether you are using a hard drive source or a cd source. Plus, I think different players/dacs must sound different with each codec as well. I can state with absolute certainty that AIFF and Lossless sound inferior to WAV through my Marantz Sa11S1 and they sounded inferior through my Assemblage 2.7 dac & various transports as well. I burned any number of excellent sounding discs with internal & external burners & high quality Mitsui & Taiyo Yuden media. In every case, I found AIFF & Lossless to sound less resolved and duller.
avkmusic
12 posts
 
Another ripping program for the Mac is XLD. Here is a link that will help you find a download:
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=XLD

In my limited experience XLD does a better job than does Max in exporting to iTunes and in importing artist, album, track metadata. I have not yet had the time to test differences between the two programs, or the different file formats, because my DAC is being updated.

If you use Max here is a link to a script that can be used to import data for tags:
http://forums.sbooth.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1930
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